United House of Prayer For All People

Infobox Christian denomination
name = United House of Prayer for All People of the Church on the Rock of the Apostolic Faith


caption =
main_classification = Protestant
orientation = Pentecostal
polity = Episcopal
founder = Charles Manuel Grace
founded_date =
founded_place =
separated_from =
separations =
associations =
area = United States
congregations = 131
members = 1.5 million (estimate)cite web | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/06/AR2008040602312.html|title=House of Prayer Bishop Had Deep Roots in D.C|accessdate=2008-09-20]
footnotes = The United House of Prayer for All People (also known as United House of Prayer for All People of the Church on the Rock of the Apostolic Faith) is a Christian denomination founded by Charles Manuel Grace (Marcelino Manuel da Graca) (1881?-1960). Marcelino Manuel da Graca was born in Brava in the Cape Verde Islands. In 1919, Bishop Grace, with his own hands, built the first United House of Prayer For All People in West Wareham, Massachusetts, and incorporated the United House of Prayer for All People in Washington, D.C. in 1927.

According to church literature and their official website, the United House of Prayer for All People has 131 places of worship in 26 states. The church has an estimated membership of 1.5 million members though some estimates place it lower.cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/615547/United-House-of-Prayer-for-All-People#tab=active~checked%2Citems~checked&title=United%20House%20of%20Prayer%20for%20All%20People%20--%20Britannica%20Online%20Encyclopedia |title=United House of Prayer for All People|author=www.britannica.com|date=2008|accessdate=2008-09-12] The national headquarters for the church is located in Washington, D.C.

Doctrine

The United House of Prayer for All People is Pentecostal and Holiness in doctrine. Its creed establishes its basic principles as believing in Jesus Christ and his death on the cross so that humanity could have life, water baptism for the repentance of sin, that to be saved one must be born again of the Holy Spirit, and that one man alone should rule the Kingdom of God.

One unique aspect of the faith of the United House of Prayer is the full name: the United House of Prayer for All People of the Church on the Rock of the Apostolic Faith. The first portion of the name is derived from Isaiah 56:7 where God says: "Mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all people." "The second part of the name refers to both Acts 4:10-12 and Ephesians 2:20, which dicusses Christian salvation as being built on a figurative cornerstone, or rock." This figurative cornerstone or rock is believed to be the teachings of Jesus Christ as preached by the Apostle Peter."

Another unique aspect about this organization's doctrine and belief is the defintion of the term "church" as used by the bishop and members. The United House of Prayer for All People believes that the word "church" means a group of Christians who are believers and worshippers in Christ and that the modern defintion of "church" as a building, denomination, or institution is unbiblical according to the writings of the Holy Scriptures as recorded in Acts 9:31."The Truth and Facts of the United House of Prayer and the Most Honorable Bishop Dr. S.C. Madison, 2005, pg 30] Therefore, the United House of Prayer does not see itself as a denomination.

Church Hierarchy and Structure

The United House of Prayer as defined in their constitution and by-laws is composed of the bishop, elders, ministers, deacons, and all persons who assemble themselves in the various places of assembly maintained by the organization.Constitution and By-Laws of the United House of Prayer For All People of the Church on the Rock of the Apostolic Faith(1992), pages 2,3,4,6] "On a broader organization level, each House of Prayer belonged to a regional district" and each district is chaired by a minister who is the state chairman. The organization also has what they call the General Assembly which consist of the bishop, minsters, elders, and two elected representatives from each congregation. The General Assembly is the vehicle used to make amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws, to fill vacancies in the office of bishop, and to remove the bishop for cause. Besides the bishop, the General Assembly, ministers, and members, there exist an ecclesiastical court called the General Council.The Supreme Laws For The Government of the United House of Prayer For All People of the Church on the Rock of the Apostolic Faith(2005) page 1] The General Council consist of the bishop, state charimen and others who are appointed by the bishop and their primary responsibility is to protect the work of the organization and the bishop and to ensure that all houses and members are compliant with laws outlined in the The Supreme Laws For the Government of the United House of Prayer.

The Constitution and By-Laws of the organization stipulate that the bishop must be in full knowledge of the doctrine of the United House of Prayer faith, ready to give answers in good faith, able to judge the various members among the church and congregations, and must be continously working for the good of the organization in accordance with the rules of the New Testament. The bishop's role includes the power to select, ordain, and supervise ministers and he is also designated on behalf of the members as trustee of all church property.

History

Bishop Grace

Bishop Charles Manuel (Sweet Daddy) Grace was born Marcelino Manuel da Graca, January 25, 1884, in Brava Cape Verde Islands, a Portuguese possession off the west coast of Africa. He came to America on a ship called Freedom in 1903 and settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts.After leaving his job as a railway cook, Grace began using the title bishop.cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/615547/United-House-of-Prayer-for-All-People#tab=active~checked%2Citems~checked&title=United%20House%20of%20Prayer%20for%20All%20People%20--%20Britannica%20Online%20Encyclopedia |title=United House of Prayer for All People|author=www.britannica.com|date=2008|accessdate=2008-09-12] In 1919, Daddy Grace, as parishoners knew him, built the first House of Prayer in West Wareham, Massachusetts at the cost of thirty-nine dollars.>cite web | url=http://www.tuhopfap.org/index2.html|title=Official Website of the United House of Prayer for All People|accessdate=2008-04-18] He later established branches in Charlotte, North Carolina and Newark, New Jersey.cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9906E1D71739F934A25751C1A963958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|title=Harlem Church Is Outpost of Empire;House of Prayer Built Wide Holdings on Devotion to Sweet Daddy Grace|author=Douglas Frantz and Brett Pulley|date=1995-12-17|accessdate=2008-09-19]

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Daddy Grace traveled America preaching and establishing the United House of Prayer for all People. The Constitution and By-Laws of The United House of Prayer promulgated in 1929, stated that the purpose of the organization, in pertinent part was "to erect and maintain places of worship and assembly where all people may gather prayer and to worship the Almighty God, irrespective of denomination or creed.">cite web | url=http://www.tuhopfap.org/index2.html|title=Official Website of the United House of Prayer for All People|accessdate=2008-04-18] He traveled extensively throughout the segregated South in the 1920s and 1930s preaching to integrated congregations years before the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s and the religious ecumenical movements which followed.

One of the principles that Daddy Grace taught which provoked controversy was the concept of one man leadership. Grace used the Bible as his reference and taught that God only used one man at a time (e.g. Noah, Moses, and Jesus). One of the many statements made against Grace is the following statement which Grace is to have allegedly made in the early 1940s: "Salvation is by Grace only. Grace has given God a vacation, and since He is on vacation, don't worry about Him. If you sin against God, Grace can save you, but if you sin against Grace, God cannot save you."cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9906E1D71739F934A25751C1A963958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|title=Harlem Church Is Outpost of Empire;House of Prayer Built Wide Holdings on Devotion to Sweet Daddy Grace|author=Douglas Frantz and Brett Pulley|date=1995-12-17|accessdate=2008-09-19] cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/615547/United-House-of-Prayer-for-All-People#tab=active~checked%2Citems~checked&title=United%20House%20of%20Prayer%20for%20All%20People%20--%20Britannica%20Online%20Encyclopedia |title=United House of Prayer for All People|author=www.britannica.com|date=2008|accessdate=2008-09-12] [Arthur Fauset, Black Gods of the Metropolis, page 26] Nonetheless, the "interpretation of this point - that Grace claimed he himself was God - has been almost completely definitive in both academic and popular literature, and only a handful of writers have ever questioned it, usually as an aside."Marie W. Dallam, "Daddy Grace: A Celebrity Preacher and His House of Prayer", page 57,87] The most extensive research done by Danielle Brune Sigler on this statement shows that Mr. Fauset selectively quoted certain parts of the orginal message which changed the context." The original statement, spoken by a member and not Grace, shows that the members and Grace, himself, thought that he was not "God himself", but merely an "intermediary" and "the path to salvation."Danielle Brune, "Sweet Daddy Grace: The Life and Times of a Modern Day Prophet, Ph.D. diss., University of Texas, Austin, 2002.", pgs 64-71,170]

One reason for the early success of the denomination is that offerings went directly to Grace for investment into products such as soap, stationery, tea, coffee, cookies, toothpaste, facial creams, talcum powder, hair dressing, and the "Grace Magazine".cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/615547/United-House-of-Prayer-for-All-People#tab=active~checked%2Citems~checked&title=United%20House%20of%20Prayer%20for%20All%20People%20--%20Britannica%20Online%20Encyclopedia |title=United House of Prayer for All People|author=www.britannica.com|date=2008|accessdate=2008-09-12]

Bishop Grace died on January 12, 1960. Bishop W. McCollough succeeded the founder of the denomination.

Bishop McCollough

When Bishop Grace died he left the church with an unclear succession. After winning a court fight and two elections, Walter McCollough succeeded Grace as the second bishop.cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9906E1D71739F934A25751C1A963958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|title=Harlem Church Is Outpost of Empire;House of Prayer Built Wide Holdings on Devotion to Sweet Daddy Grace|author=Douglas Frantz and Brett Pulley|date=1995-12-17|accessdate=2008-09-19] Bishop McCollough launched a nationwide building program. Through this program, low-income and affordable housing was being erected which benefitted not only parishioners, but other members of the community. New church structures were being built by their own construction teams and other edifices were receiving major renovations, which were financed soley by the members. Day care centers and senior citizens homes were also erected. One of the unique features of Daddy McCollough's building programs was that all of the church structures were completely paid for at the time of dedication.

Under his leadership, the House of Prayer acquired a fleet of luxury coach buses; property was acquired for the House of Prayer for use as future development sites; concert and marching bands were organized to march in annual parades and annual competitions; and softball teams were organized, nationwide, for interstate competition. In addition, the McCollough Scholarship Fund was established which allowed youth of the church to pursue higher education. Bishop McCollough died on March 21, 1991.>cite web | url=http://www.tuhopfap.org/index2.html|title=Official Website of the United House of Prayer for All People|accessdate=2008-04-18]

Bishop Madison

Once again a crisis occured over the succession, with Charles McCollough and Samuel C. Madison struggling for control of the church.citeweb|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.htmlres=9906E1D71739F934A25751C1A963958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|title=Harlem Church Is Outpost of Empire;House of Prayer Built Wide Holdings on Devotion to Sweet Daddy Grace|author=Douglas Frantz and Brett Pulley|date=1995-12-17|accessdate=2008-09-19] On May 24, 1991, the members voted S.C. Madison to the office of Bishop of the United House of Prayer for All People. Shortly after entering the office of bishop, Madison pledged to fulfill everything that was on Bishop McCollough's agenda. Under his administration, over 123 Houses of Prayer received major renovation or were constructed. Added to this number were numerous apartments, senior citizens' dwellings, parsonages, houses, and commercial properties.

Bishop Madison was an advocate for scholastic achievement and was the chief executive officer and major contributor to the McCollough Scholarship College Fund. Madison expanded the academic programs of the organization through inaugurating the Annual First Lady Scholastic Achievement Awards Program.>cite web | url=http://www.tuhopfap.org/index2.html|title=Official Website of the United House of Prayer for All People|accessdate=2008-04-18] Bishop Madison died on April 5, 2008.

Recent history

Bishop C. M. Daddy Bailey succeeded Bishop Madison on May 23, 2008.

References

External links

* [http://www.tuhopfap.org The Official Website for the United House Of Prayer For All People of the Church on the Rock of the Apostolic Faith®]
* [http://www.tuhopfap.org/index2.html Hit the "Directory" button for the list of United House of Prayer For All People of the Church on the Rock of the Apostolic Faith®]
* [http://uhop.org United House of Prayer for All People of the Church on the Rock of the Apostolic Faith - Atlanta, GA]
* [http://www.uhopindianapolis.com United House of Prayer for All People of the Church on the Rock of the Apostolic Faith - Indianapolis, IN]
* [http://www.uhopdallas.org/HomePage.html United House of Prayer for All People of the Church on the Rock of the Apostolic Faith - Dallas, TX]
* [http://www.detroithouseofprayer.org United House of Prayer for All People of the Church on the Rock of the Apostolic Faith - Detroit, MI]
* [http://capeverde-islands.com/sweetdaddyrip.html Mausoleum of Bishop Charles Manuel (Sweet Daddy) Grace - Pine Grove Cemetery, New Bedford, MA]
* [http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/info-url3948/info-url_show.htm?doc_id=215142&attrib_id=7973 Residence of Bishop Charles Manuel (Sweet Daddy Grace) - Cultural Tourism DC/African American Heritage Trail]
* [http://www.cmstory.org/aaa2/events/50/48e.html 1959 Photo of Bishop Charles Manuel (Sweet Daddy) Grace visiting Charlotte, NC - The Charolotte - Mecklenburg Story]
* [http://new.savannahnow.com/node/364330 Article on the 81st Annual Holy Convocation of the United House of Prayer For All People of the Church on the Rock of the Apostolic Faith - Savannah, GA--Savannah Morning News]
* [http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/artist_detail.cfm?artist_id=SWTHVNKING Sweet Heaven Kings Brass Band - United House of Prayer for All People - Anacostia, DC (The Kennedy Center)]
* [http://www.folkways.si.edu/search/AlbumDetails.aspx?ID=2649 United House of Prayer Trombone Shout Bands - Smithsonian Folkways Recordings]